Trump says he'll posthumously pardon baseball legend Pete Rose

President Trump said that he will posthumously pardon baseball legend Pete Rose and hammered Major League Baseball (MLB) for preventing the all-time hits leader from being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame over betting on games. 

“Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose, also known as ‘Charlie Hustle,’ into the Baseball Hall of fame,” Trump wrote in a Saturday Truth Social post. 

“Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously. WHAT A SHAME,” the president added. 

Rose, who passed away in September at the age of 83, received a lifetime ban from baseball after a probe discovered that he was betting on games. He was banned by Commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989. Two years later, the Hall of Fame introduced a rule that those banned from the sport cannot be eligible for the sport’s highest honor.

Trump wrote Saturday that over the next “few weeks” he will “be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING.”  

“He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history,” Trump said. 

The commander-in-chief did not detail for what Rose would be pardoned. The former Cincinnati Reds standout pleaded guilty for filing a faulty tax return in 1990, for which he served five months in prison. 

In 2004, Rose admitted that he placed bets on games, but never against his own squad. In late 2015, his reinstatement bid was rejected by Commissioner Rob Manfred. 

Trump has advocated for some time that Rose, who still leads the MLB in hits, played games, singles and at-bats, should be inducted into the sport’s hall of fame. 

Shortly after his death on Sept. 30, Trump said that Rose should be admitted into baseball’s Hall of Fame ahead of his funeral. He expressed the same sentiment in early 2020, during his first White House term, writing, “GET PETE ROSE INTO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME. It’s Time!” 

Rose was a 17-time All-Star and won the World Series three times throughout his career. 

Trump suggested Saturday that “Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy a[–] and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!”